Miami (Ohio) upsets women’s basketball, 70-67
Maddy Watters tossed a skip pass from the sideline to Renya Frost, who immediately kicked the ball to Presley Hudson, known as Central Michigan’s solidified 3-point threat.
Down 70-67 with 2.7 seconds left against Miami (Ohio) and guarded heavily by senior Leah Purvis, Hudson's shot resulted in an airball.
Purvis jumped up and was mobbed by her teammates in celebration, as the RedHawks (11-4, 2-2 MAC) handed the Chippewas (12-4, 3-1 MAC) their first Mid-American Conference loss of the 2018-19 campaign.
"(Miami) didn't quit, even when the crowd got into it," said CMU coach Sue Guevara. "I thought we really struggled to score. We struggled all night. It was one of those games."
Hudson was held to 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The 5-foot-6 star turned the ball over six times, shot 0-of-5 from 3-point range and was 4-of-16 overall from the field.
"She had a rough night in a lot of ways, and we just aren't used to seeing that," Guevara said.
The narrative was the same all night – when CMU scored, Miami (Ohio) responded immediately.
With 55.4 seconds left in regulation, Hudson tied the game for CMU, 67-67, on a step back jumper. Miami, on its final offensive possession, scored on a quick and-one layup to take the three-point edge.
Guevara’s group had two fouls to give with 5.3 seconds to play but failed to execute.
"We wanted to foul and foul to take that clock down to two seconds for them to score," Guevara explained. "That did not happen."
Off a missed layup by Hudson, sophomore forward Kyra Bussell cleaned up the miss, drew a foul, made the layup and converted at the line for an old fashion 3-point play, cutting CMU’s deficit to 53-51 with 7:05 left.
The RedHawks, as expected, answered on a triple from Purvis.
Miami senior forward Kendall McCoy, at 6-foot, opened the contest with eight of her team’s first 11 points for a six-point edge with 5:23 remaining in the first.
Besides a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Micaela Kelly to start the scoring just 43 seconds in, the Chippewas never again saw the lead change in their direction. The reason for CMU’s lack of offensive production – stellar defense from the RedHawks.
"Well, we usually shoot the 3-ball a little better," Guevara said. "Credit their defense. They made it tough for us. We struggled to score inside early, and then we got it going."
As the clock ticked under one minute to play in the third, sophomore guard Maddy Watters cut baseline and tossed a no-look pass to sophomore forward Kyra Bussell. Her shot, through two defenders, fell through to cut CMU’s deficit to six points, 51-45.
Down 51-45 to open the fourth, Frost opened the frame by nailing a 3-pointer from the wing, and she finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two assists.
CMU's next game is at noon Jan. 19 against Kent State. The Golden Flashes are 10-5 overall and 3-1 in the MAC, losing 83-81 to Ohio on Jan. 16.
"I will not get over it tomorrow in practice," Guevara said. "I'll be over it by Friday as we get ready for Kent State. We'll live and learn."
